Since Saturday July 16, 2016, the SEWA USA association, the Central African Red Cross, and the P.A.S. HOPFAN nongovernmental organization are working hand in hand to carry out the humanitarian operation called “We Are The Central African Republic”.

The operation is aimed at assisting women and children from the eight districts of Bangui (capital of the Central African Republic) and the towns of Bimbo and Bégoua, through a blood drive campaign. Following the campaign, at least 750 blood bags will be donated to the National Blood Transfusion Centre in Bangui, to be used free of charge in favour of women and children in need.

For the first day of the campaign, the blood drive took place in Boy-Rabe neighborhood, in the 4th district of Bangui. Next week, the operation will continue in other districts.

The SEWA USA association launched the humanitarian operation in the United States, during the armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). The operation was funded thanks to a fundraising initiative targeting primarily members of the CAR Diaspora living in the United States. Other persons and legal entities (including P.A.S. HOPFAN) also contributed to the operation, the cost of which amounts to $7,000, i.e. CFAF 4,005,768.87.

SEWA USA, the Central African Red Cross and P.A.S. HOPFAN are working in partnership within the framework of the tripartite agreement that they signed on September 10, 2013.

Since 2014, Siloé School (“Complexe Scolaire Siloé”) is receiving students from the most vulnerable families to offer them basic quality education. For the school year 2014-2015, Siloé School welcomed students from nursery school to the fourth year of high school, due to financial constraints. Today, the school is welcoming students from nursery school to the last year of high school.

On 12 August 2015, the Ministry of Education allowed P.A.S. HOPFAN to launch Siloé School. In 2014, the NGO was authorized to manage the school under another official name in the files at the Ministry of Education, pending the finalization of the whole process. Today, the authorization process has been concluded, and we thank the Lord for His everlasting Grace and Goodness.

Siloé School is a project of P.A.S. HOPFAN, in compliance with the NGO’s rules and regulations. It is based in Boy-Rabe, a lower class area in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).

The first school year started in September 2014 and concluded in June 2015. The new school year commenced on 13 October 2015. We pray that the Lord lead each one of the students through His Holy Spirit so that they succeed according to His perfect plans for them. In the Name of YAHSHUA. Amen.

P.A.S. HOPFAN intends to contribute, inter alia, to the physical and spiritual growth of men and women, as well as to peace and individual, economic and social development in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in the whole world, according to GOD’s Word. P.A.S. HOPFAN also aspires to train disciples of Christ who bear fruit as specified in John 15:1-7, John 15:20 and Galatians 5:22-25.

To reach those objectives, the NGO works towards the construction and management of education and vocational training centres, among others. Siloé School was established in this context and should allow for advancing the fight against spiritual, material and intellectual poverty, as well as combating illiteracy.

The founding principles and functioning of Siloé School are based on the Word of GOD and the vision of P.A.S. HOPFAN, i.e.: “Men and women released from captivity and living on earth the abundant life that Jesus Christ has promised to us.”

Since P.A.S. HOPFAN is serving a perfect GOD, Siloé School also aims for perfection in the teaching provided.

The initial results for the school year 2014-2015 at Siloé School are overall encouraging, especially in primary school and for those who took the CEF1 (primary school certificate exam), the competitive exam to enter the first year of high school, and the BEC examinations (fourth year of high school).

Out of 164 children enrolled for the CEF1 (90 boys and 74 girls), 147 were present the day of the exam (82 boys and 65 girls), and 138 passed the exam (75 boys and 63 girls), i.e. a 93.87% success rate.

Out of 145 enrolled for the competitive exam to enter the first year of high school (90 boys and 55 girls), 133 passed, i.e. a 91.72 % success rate.

Out of 1,090 enrolled from the first to the last year of primary school (547 boys and 543 girls), 994 were present the day of the final exam, and 710 passed (344 boys and 366 girls), i.e. a 71,42 % success rate.

Results for the high school were also positive, though less encouraging, with a 58.27 % success rate (169 passed, including 98 boys and 71 girls) out of 319 enrolled (175 boys and 144 girls) and 290 present the day of the final exam (161 boys and 129 girls).

Moreover, 32 students from the fourth year (2), third year (4), second year (18) and first year (8) of high school got on the roll of honour. Five students also got recognition awards, including one from the third year, three from the second year and one from the first year of high school.

Among those of the fourth year of high school who passed their final exam, four were orientated towards literature, six towards economics, and five towards mathematics and sciences.

Siloé School has come to the sad conclusion that girls are the ones who stop their schooling more often, especially because their parents do not favour girls’ education. Siloé will implement sensitization activities targeting parents and girls to contribute to reverse the trend.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), many children, youths, men and women are living in extreme poverty. Therefore, P.A.S. HOPFAN makes sure that Siloé School welcomes them given that without such a support, it would be difficult for them to access basic quality education.

Under these circumstances, school fees at Siloé School have been reduced. Compared to private schools with the most affordable fees, Siloé’s costs are cheaper and less binding (see comparative table). In addition, Siloé is more flexible with families who have difficulties in paying for the fees by allowing their children to complete the school year despite everything. Families or those legally taking care of orphans do not pay for the fees if they make the request and following verification.

For the school year 2014-2015, Siloé School had to open its doors to 1,779 students (897 boys and 882 girls) at the end of the second term, while it should have welcomed 800 based on its capacity. The fees, the NGO’s flexibility and insecurity in the country encouraged many parents to favour Siloé, especially those living in the nearby.

In the past, P.A.S. HOPFAN was taking care of or assisting occasionally 150 orphans. This number increased to 215, especially as a result of the armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2012.

For the 2015-2016 school year, to date, 45 orphans have been enrolled at Siloé School free of charge. The NGO also provides them with school supplies and clothing and covers their health care expenses.

However, the number of orphans in need is still high, with most of them remaining in displaced persons camps due to insecurity. The NGO assists this group occasionally, such us in covering their health care expenses.

English classes are given to children at Siloé School from the third year of primary school to initiate them into that foreign language spoken all around the world and considered the major business language worldwide.

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a country that has been experiencing several armed conflicts and military coups d’état for many years. It is therefore all the more important to teach children respect for the rule of law and citizenship values.

From the first to the final year of high school, children at Siloé School take civic education lessons, in accordance with the national programme. The objective of those lessons is to contribute to educating the new generations so that they become good citizens who develop and demonstrate a good civic culture.

Every day, children at Siloé School receive Bible teaching from the first year of primary school to the last year of high school. Ten teachers trained at the P.A.S. HOPFAN Bible Institute are teaching these classes aimed at helping children to grow in the Word of GOD. This can only have positive effects on their school year and in their lives in general.

Every day, regular classes at Siloé begin and end with prayers lifted up to the Lord YAHWEH.

According to figures in the 2015 Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme, between 2005 and 2013, only 36.8 % of Central Africans aged 15 and older could, “with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement on their everyday life.”

In order to contribute to reducing the illiteracy rate, Siloé School offers literacy and digitization classes. Those interested are required to pay CFAF 1,000 (about $1.7) a month during nine months. However, orphans and widows can take those classes free of charge. 42 people were able to conclude the training during the 2014-2015 school year.

The first testimonies are encouraging and reveal that, thanks to those classes, several people could overcome some inferiority complex vis-à-vis those who could read and write before them. One of the reasons why some of them enrolled for those classes was the necessity to use a mobile phone by dialing the phone numbers of their interlocutors, thus gaining some level of independence.